Strategic Initiative Paper – Barnes & Noble
In order to be successful corporations have to plan how their business will run financially every year. There are a few different plans that are put together, usually overseen by the Vice President of the organization. Two of these plans include strategic planning which is the capital-budgeting process. The other of the two plans is financial planning. Financial planning entitles collecting sales forecasts from marketing personnel and production plans from operations, and then combining them to make projections of the firm’s future financing requirements (Barnes & Noble, Inc, 2009). While reviewing the annual report for Barnes & Noble, Inc, Team A will discuss the relationship between strategic planning and financial planning for Barnes & Noble, Inc. A strategic initiative will be described and will show how it affects the financial planning for Barnes & Noble, Inc. While there are many factors that can affect the costs and sales of an organization, Team A will discuss how the strategic initiative can be one of these factors. The final piece that will be discussed is the risks associated with the initiative and the financial effects they may have on the organization.
Barnes & Noble remain the largest bookseller offering a wide selection of online retailing and discounted, high quality books to enrich, enlighten, and educate its readers. In October 2009, Barnes & Noble launched the nook, the most full-featured eBook reader that allows customers to access newspapers, magazines, and their favorite eBook anytime and where ever they may go. Barnes & Noble succeeded in its strategic objective plans to deliver modern technology with the nook’s touch screen feature and its ability to store up to 1,500 books easily.
According to William J. Lynch, President of Barnes & Noble.com “We asked our customers what they wanted